


Mistakes Were Made

by Kendrickhier



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Project Cadmus, evil Lillian Luthor appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 14:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12060540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kendrickhier/pseuds/Kendrickhier
Summary: General Danvers Monthly: Canon Divergenceor when Alex tells Lillian she killed Astra of the house of El, but is wrong on both accounts





	Mistakes Were Made

“I’ve killed a Kryptonian before,” Alex tells Lillian, straightening her posture to look more intimidating. Neither is willing to cooperate with the other, Lillian’s recruiting attempt having failed miserably, and Alex’s attempt at retrieving information regarding her father having gone just as badly. She sneers. “I stabbed Astra of the house of El with a sword made of kryptonite.”

Alex would have continued taunting Lillian - how she’d never be able to do such a thing, that she should fear the moment Alex would come for her - if it weren’t for a voice interrupting her, a feminine voice coming from a shadowy corner of the warehouse, and she spins around the moment she hears it. Recognition claws in the back of her brain, but she pushes it back, because that should be impossible.

“The house of Ze, actually,” the voice corrects, the source of it taking languid steps, slowly making her way into the light. She walks like a predator stalking her prey, a combination of smug and confident, and Alex gapes when the figure is fully revealed. There is no denying her identity any longer. “And as you can see, not as dead as you thought.”

“Astra.”

It’s been months since their encounter on the rooftop, months since Kara attended her funeral and sent her off in a pod into space, yet here she stands as if nothing has changed. The same dark brown curls falling down her shoulders, the same silver streak that stands out among them, the same poise with which she holds herself, and the same smirk that graces her features when Alex continues to gape.

The only difference is that, instead of the sleek black uniform she’s accustomed to seeing on Astra, she is wearing something that’s actually been made my humans. A black leather jacket rests heavily on her shoulders, dark skintight jeans disappear into a pair of combat boots, and beneath the jacket she can see a light gray shirt just barely poking out.

Lillian’s been observing the interaction and seems to be satisfied with the result. “I think we’re done here.” She nods to Astra. “I will leave her to you.”

It shakes Alex out of her stupor and she immediately scrambles for her gun, needing some kind of leverage to stop Lillian in her tracks, but she doesn’t get the chance to when something slams into her, faster than she can respond to. It knocks her off her feet, and the sheer force of it has her sliding a few feet on the concrete floor.

She only notices now that it wasn’t something that slammed into her, but rather someone: Astra is on top of her. The instant she notices Alex tries to throw her off, or flip them over, or something, anything to gain the advantage and not be trapped beneath her. Her efforts are futile however, and only end with Astra pinning her arms above her head, the grip tightening in warning.

When that doesn’t stop Alex from still trying to find purchase with her feet, or try to free her arms, Astra’s eyes flash with amusement. “Still so very brave,” she purrs, “even when resistance is futile.”

Alex can’t say she shares the amusement, glaring up at her. The expression on Astra’s face reminds her of their first encounter, that amused intrigue that had been simultaneously so condescending, like she was some kind of scientific experiment. However this time it doesn’t have that patronizing edge to it, replaced by an underlying respect, and it throws Alex off enough to distract her from the frustration of being trapped, her struggles ceasing.

What does Astra want from her, why is she here? There doesn’t seem to be any murderous intent, or any violent anger whatsoever, despite having made a pretty damned convincing attempt on her life.

How did she survive that in the first place? Alex had seen the life drain from her eyes in her final moments, moments that haunted her in her dreams, and she knows she couldn’t have imagined that, that it couldn’t have been faked.

Alex shakes herself; there is no time for wondering about such things, not right now, not when she can still catch up with Lillian and follow her, see if she can figure out where Cadmus is located, but more importantly, if it would lead her to her father. She needs to go, and so she needs Astra to let go of her. Considering she can’t physically throw off a Kryptonian, all she could try to do is convince her.

“You know the woman you’re protecting wants to ‘cleanse’ this planet of aliens, right?” It’s a rhetoric question, for Astra must have heard their entire conversation, which had screamed anti-alien. She’s a smart woman, there’s no way Lillian could have her fooled on her stances regarding extraterrestrials. “Why are you protecting her? What could she possibly have offered you?”

Astra’s composure falters ever so slightly, and she suddenly looks a lot more tired than she had before. “I owe her a debt of honor,” she says, and before Alex can ask what that means, she launches into a brief but effective explanation.

\-----

_Serenity. It’s been a long time since Astra’s felt so calm when she regained consciousness, her mind as silent as her surroundings appeared to be, and she mourned the feeling of having to face the day when she’s finally been granted some proper rest. Or at least, that’s what she first thought when she awoke, but that idea faded quickly from her mind when her senses caught up with her._

_Her eyes were still closed when she took note of the soreness in her chest, a sensation she instantly recognized as a recovering battle wound. It felt like it’s been taken care of. Her men must have brought her back to their ship, or to the infirmary on Krypton, a place she’d frequented many times; she didn’t think this time to be any different._

_She was slightly nauseous and her body felt sluggish, but that was hardly worrisome after such an injury._

_When she instinctively tried to bring her hand to her chest however, it did worry her when her wrist bumped into some sort of metal. It was even more worrying that the metal appeared to burn her in a way that seemed so very familiar, yet couldn’t place._

_Eyes shooting open, she took in her surroundings. She was on some sort of examination table inside of a laboratory, though the dim lighting told her this was no ordinary facility. The bindings around her wrists - and ankles, she noted - were glowing an eerie green and something nagged in the back of her mind. She didn’t remember how she learned of the substance, but she’s immediately on edge and knew it to be kryptonite, the radioactive debris from Krypton._

_Injured, restrained with a material harmful specifically to her race, in a place she didn’t recognize: that could not bode well._

_Her attention was drawn to the singular entrance when it opened, a woman stepping through, tall and severe. The air she gave off made Astra sneer; this person was responsible for her current predicament, she could feel it by the condescending superiority. This stranger was not a friendly face on her side or she would have expressed at least some concern. “Who are you?”_

_The anger in her voice only appeared to please the woman, and her smile was unsettling. “The person who is giving you a second chance at life.”_

_A savior, but far from a selfless one; Astra knew she wanted something from her in return. Her brain might have been a bit hazy, her memories scarce - there was only one person she remembered with a startling clarity, which was Kara, her little one - but her instincts had never steered her wrong. “What do you want?” She snarled._

_That smile widened slightly, but the woman didn’t answer her, instead questioning her. “Do you remember what happened to you?”_

_Frowning, Astra tried to recall her last memory. She guessed they’re on Earth, and she remembered Fort Rozz crash landing on the planet. The planet so similar to Krypton she’d tried to implement Myriad, and she thought she remembered ordering her men to place the transmitters._

_That’s where things got vague though, flashes of a battle, of holding someone by their throat, and a memory of a blinding pain that had no equal, like rapidly decaying from the inside out, a burning withering, until there was nothing._

_While she could safely assume she’d been killed in battle, Astra couldn’t actually remember what happened, or who were involved, let alone who’d dealt the final blow._

_Lillian took her prolonged silence as a ‘no’ and eventually started to fill her in on the blanks, presumably, considering Astra had no way to check. “You died at the hands of an agent working for an organization called the DEO. Specifically one agent Danvers.”_

_Agent Danvers. The name rang through her brain, and she remembered her dear one guised under the Danvers name. She also remembered that on this planet they referred to her as Supergirl rather than any name, which was a relief; her niece’s hatred hadn’t been the cause of her death._

_Danvers… Agent Danvers…_

_When it finally clicked, she was flooded with memories, the moments rushing past her mind’s eye almost violently._

_Flashes of meeting the wounded agent, of the draw she had felt immediately, of how brave this human was._

_Flashes of being in captivity and the woman and her Director visiting her, trying to get her to talk, and that fire in her eyes that Astra’d liked so much._

_Flashes of being held down, Kara in front of her, and the agent trying to keep her from being tortured, ‘there has to be another way’, and how her heart had clenched painfully at the resemblance to her sister, who had once preached the same to her._

_Flashes of being in Kara’s apartment, trying to get the human agent’s help in saving her niece after Non’s betrayal, and how their mutual care for Kara had eventually made her listen, made her trust her enough._

_And then flashes on a rooftop, of the woman showing off her exceptional intelligence, understanding Astra on a level she barely dared to admit to herself, and her begging to abandon Myriad and help them instead. She’d been so close to converting to their side then, before someone interrupted their conversation._

_She couldn’t remember much else, nothing useful or coherent, not that close to her death. One unanswered question dominated her mind: had the agent pulled it off, had Kara survived the assault of the Black Mercy?_

_But what she could remember was the agent’s name, could still hear her niece say it when she fell into the trap she’d set up in the warehouse._

_Alex._

_Of all people to strike her down, it had been the bravest human she’d ever met, the most honorable and respectable warrior of her race, perhaps even of any species Astra had encountered. It should have elated her to learn she’d met her end at the hands of such a fierce warrior, yet elation is not what she felt. There was an emptiness that accompanied the thought of_ Alex _slaying her, a sadness she couldn’t quite place._

_“I see you remember her. Good, that saves me some trouble.”_

_The voice brought her back to reality, feelings immediately shoved aside, for this was not the time to be analyzing her vulnerability. This woman appeared to want her anger, that hadn’t been hard to deduce, so that was exactly what she would get until Astra was out of there._

_It wasn’t exactly hard to conjure up any rage in that helpless position, and the sneer had come easily._

_“I want you to make sure she stays out of my way,” the woman continued, and there’d been a very specific gleam in her eyes, one that heavily implied she wanted Astra to take her killer’s life, to take Alex Danvers’ life._

_She supposed it was a fair deal, taking a life in exchange for receiving a new one of her own._

_And so Astra had grinned a rather feral grin, one that had made sure the woman hadn’t thought twice about her intentions. “With pleasure.”_

\-----

“So she assumes you’re going to kill me,” Alex concludes, to which Astra nods. “Are you?”

The response is a thoughtful hum, like she’s still wondering that herself, and Alex tries her best not to be intimidated when a finger trails down her throat. Instead she puffs up her chest, meeting Astra’s eyes. There’s a brief glimmer of amusement, and for a moment Alex thinks she’s going to burst out laughing. She doesn’t.

“It’d be a crime to rid the universe of your existence.”

Alex almost rolls her eyes and she deadpans, “killing anyone is a crime. It’s called murder.”

This time Astra does laugh, hearty and genuine rather than mockery, after which she lets go of Alex and floats back to her feet. It’s a convenient skill Alex will always be at least slightly envious of, especially when her back is too sore to be doing any sort of graceful tricks to get back up, instead having to resort the relatively clumsy way of scrambling back up.

“Have your DEO retrieve the kryptonite,” she tells Alex, nodding to the big lead container. “So long as you stay out of Lillian’s way, I won’t have to do something we’ll both regret.”

Astra is gone before she can say anything in response, and instead she’s left staring at an empty wall. It’s too late to be going after Lillian, she left minutes ago and could be virtually anywhere. She wishes she’d have had the forethought to bring trackers with her so she could have some idea of where she went, or where Astra was going right now, for that matter.

Astra, who is alive.

She’ll have a lot of explaining to do when she gets back to the DEO.

\-----

“You didn’t kill her,” Lillian says as she walks into the room reserved for Astra, located within a nearby facility. She didn’t have anywhere to go and the woman had wanted to keep an eye on her regardless, so this had been the most practical option for both of them.

Astra almost shudders when she’s hit with a flashback, when Non had told her the exact same upon not killing her niece. Except this time it doesn’t concern her niece, doesn’t even concern her own blood, so she cannot use that as en excuse. Even if she could this isn’t Non, this is Lillian, who would likely not accept the same reasoning for she was not raised by Kryptonian standards. She can’t make the excuse of being overpowered either, as she had back then, for Alex had been helpless beneath her right before Lillian exited the warehouse. Had she put her mind to it, it would have been so easy, but she hadn’t.

So instead she argues. “I’m keeping her out of your way, as is our agreement.”

Lillian hums in a way that tells her she isn’t satisfied with that answer, perhaps even disappointed. “And here I thought we had an understanding,” she muses, pacing the room slowly, in a way that Astra is intimately familiar with, to impose.

Astra hasn’t been affected by such power plays in a long time, not since she’s been a general and used them herself. This time is no different. Instead it prepares her for what Lillian has in store for her.

“The DEO recovered their kryptonite before our men could transport it.” It sounds like an accusation, it probably is, and so she’s not surprised when Lillian follows up with questioning her. “I will ask only once, Astra. Are you working with me, or against me?”

“I do what you ask of me.”

The answer is evasive, and Lillian clearly recognizes it as such when she nods once. “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I’m not surprised. I know better than to trust an alien with something important.”

Lillian walks towards the door, and a sense of dread forms in the pit of Astra’s stomach. Not good. The smile on her face when she turns her head to face Astra, right as she’s about to open the door, only serves to increase that dread. “But you can still be of use to me. You just need a little… encouragement.”

She opens the door, nods towards whoever is outside - damn those lead walls - and a man she has gotten to know as ‘Metallo’ steps through in her place, advancing on Astra quickly with a wicked grin on his face. “I’ve been looking forward to this,” he says as the kryptonite core inside his chest starts to charge.

Astra doesn’t plan on giving him the chance to, lunging for him and punching him square in the jaw. It knocks that self-satisfied grin right off his face as she’d intended, but her victory is short-lived when he latches onto her, possessing a strength she does not currently have to match because of the kryptonite, and the blast hits her at point-blank range.

She doesn’t even get to scream before her body gives out, and her body is dragged away some place she never wants to go again.

\-----

Human men with alien weaponry, that was the current threat Alex was trying to deal with at the DEO. Cadmus’ message’d had a suspicious timing, and she’s almost certain they are the ones distributing the weapons in the first place, but they have no prove as of yet and they are still trying to figure out where they will strike next.

As far as patterns went, these guys only seemed to be in it for the money. The mainframe was still calculating the next most probable targets, while she herself was still trying to find a countermeasure to those photo cannons.

She was studying the thermal residue closely when Vasquez rushed into her lab. “Ma’am, sorry to interrupt, but there is something you need to see.”

Alex looks up from her microscope, trying to gauge the severity of the situation based on Susan’s expression. Quite bad, evidently, if the almost frantic air about her was any indication, and so she dropped everything immediately and followed the agent to their room of operations, the main screens playing a news broadcast.

 _“Alex Danvers!”_ Her name was yelled out in a rage, followed quickly by two streams of heat hitting one of the nearby buildings, setting it on fire. It was Astra, who looked straight into the camera aimed at her from the helicopter, snarling, but not assaulting it, instead taking it out on a (thankfully) empty car. _“Alexandra, come out and face me!”_

This doesn’t seem like the Astra she knows at all, not based on their last encounter, or any of their encounters.

The destruction of the city is shown, already quite extensive, but Alex doesn’t stick around to watch it, instead shucking her lab coat and hurrying outside. There’s no time to lose; she quickly gathers a round of kryptonite bullets and a dagger to have something on hand, but even then she doesn’t think they’ll be of much use against an angry Kryptonian whose sole focus is on her. It’s reckless to respond to this calling, and J’onn makes an attempt to stop her, but if they wait any longer National City will be in ruins by the time they have a plan.

Astra isn’t far from the headquarters, just one block down, which gives her enough time to load her gun and tuck it away. By the time Alex gets there, Astra hardly even notices her approach, utterly consumed by her rage and seeming to find solace in destroying whatever is on her path.

“Astra, stop! Whatever Cadmus did to you, you can fight it!”

That draws her attention, head turning towards Alex. Before she even registers the urge to reach for her gun, Astra speeds over to her, a hand around her throat pushing her back against the nearby building, hard enough to make her see stars. “Like when I fought you?” She sneers, “are you going to kill me again, Alex?”

Fingers are closed tightly around her neck, cutting off her air supply, and Alex fights the urge to claw at Astra’s arm; there is no use to it, and would only fuel that anger. Instead her hand is as gentle as she can make it, placing it on said arm, and she shakes her head with a choked gasp that was supposed to be a ‘no’.

Mercifully, Astra’s hand slackens, recognizing the human’s need for oxygen, though she does not remove it from its designated spot.

Alex coughs and tries to calm her breathing, but she doesn’t think she has a very big window to talk, so she seizes the opportunity while she has it. “I didn’t want to kill you then, I’m not going to now, because this,” she says, her voice raspy, all the while still gasping for air. “This isn’t who you are.”

Astra tightens her hold again, and clearly that was the wrong thing to say, indicating she knows Astra at all. Alex remembers she hadn’t responded well to that last time either, but she has to say this, and so she continues, choking out the words. “You’re better than this...” It’s all she manages to say, expressing her faith in the woman.

Startled, Astra backs away a few feet, hovering in the air before her, and Alex gets a chance to breathe again. Astra’s resolve is breaking, so this is her chance, and she is not about to waste it. “Kara believes in you.”

A lip curls up at the mention of her niece, and her eyes boil with heat in preparation of a strike with her heat vision. Alex mentally braces herself, but she won’t let it come to that; this is a woman that needs faith, not fear. If she fucks this up, J’onn is free to yell at her in the infirmary about what she was thinking.

“ _I_ believe in you.”

The heated glow doesn’t dissipate and Astra growls - maybe she should have looked for cover after all - before her eyes boil over, two steady streams of heat leaving her eyes, but not at Alex. She’s redirected her attention to the sky, clouds parting where the heats strikes them, and she _roars_. It’s like she’s channeling all her anger, everything that has gathered over the span of decades, until finally the heat fizzles out and she falls. She falls the few feet she’s been hovering, voice dying in her throat, but somehow managing to land on her knees rather than her head, panting harshly.

Alex dares approach her, careful to keep her guard up just in case Astra decides to lunge for her, in case that hadn’t just expelled _all_ her anger, but then she looks up, and Alex’s heart aches for her. She looks so vulnerable, so similar to Kara after the red kryptonite incident, that all she wants to do is scoop Astra up in a hug, and so she does.

Like she’s anticipated it, or perhaps even hoped for it, Astra leans into her immediately, albeit weakly. It’s not about human fragility this time, the softness to her touch; she’s simply too drained to do anything else, and it doesn’t take long for Alex to feel a wetness on her shoulder, soaked through her polo.

They sit like that for a while, Alex whispering soothing words instinctively, paired with some apologies. Apologies for ever killing her, apologies for having had to go through this torture - and whether she’s referring to Cadmus or Lane is a mystery, but it doesn’t matter, because she hadn’t any control over either situation - reassurances and promises of seeing Kara, and that things will work out, eventually. Just like, eventually, Astra retracts from the hold.

“Better?” Alex asks her, and Astra nods.

It marks the beginning of her second chance. Her slate will be wiped clean, for General Astra In-Ze had died. She will simply Astra: an activist rather than a terrorist, an aunt to Kara (who will be thrilled to finally have her back as family), and finally (in a turn that neither had anticipated at the time, hadn’t even dared to hope for) a lover to Alex.

Better indeed.


End file.
